National Endowment for the Arts Announces Chairman Rocco Landesman Retirement and ICEALITY Related Grants

National Endowmentfor the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman announced his retirement effective at the end of the year -- but not without first publishing the NEA 2013 Challenge America Grants, a Holiday/Christmas Gift to America that rewards the participation in the arts by people who help make communities thrive. Iceality is the measure of the connection between arts, civic engagement and the environment, which can be defined as promoting a positive and peaceful quality of life for the people.

The new iceality grants are a step forward towards what Washington arts critic Tyler Green suggested in his Modern Art Notes blog: “The Arts should join Washington’s think-tank culture,” says Mr. Green. “Smart arts thinkers should have the opportunity to be involved in policy debates, to develop new ideas about how government should be involved in the arts.” 

The ‘Theory of Iceality’ is the understanding of the relationship between Humans and their Environment through the Arts ultimately promoting a sustainable global ‘Culture of Peace’.  

David and Renate Jakupca, American Cultural Ambassadors and Co-Founders of the International Center for EnvironmentalArts (ICEA), give a brief historical background of the purpose of establishing the leadership center that has been connecting Art and Culture to the  urban habitat, human rights and the environment for the past 25 years.

ICEA was founded in 1987 to meet the compelling needs of ordinary citizens for access to current, balanced, understandable information about complex global issues.
 

In 1996, ICEA, as an affiliate center of Earth Island Institute, exhibited work from Cleveland’s Whiskey Island Lakefront at Habitat II, the UN Conference on Cities in Istanbul, Turkey, and was facilitating a continuing dialogue among member nations. This information was also sent and acknowledged by NEA Chairwoman Jane Alexander for the NEA American Canvas Project in 1997.

The American Canvas Project is used in all 50 Districts of the NEA including Ohio, and in Cleveland Tom Schorgl, President of Cuyahoga Arts and Culture ( Partnership for Arts and Culture ) reported in the media that he has used The American Canvas Project extensively in his organization. 

The 2013 NEA Grants are for Spaces Gallery and Cleveland Public Theater (CPT), CPT used the definition of Iceality verbatim in it’s The Elements Cycle application!

Ambassador Renate notes that, ICEA  was originally geared towards creating an international learning community, supported by students,  families, community members, teachers, administrators and civil society organizations with the philosophy of iceality, an umbrella structure for all organizations that is deeply-rooted in the unique history, culture and ecology of North East Ohio.

"We should not be surprised to see the concept of iceality originating from a place like Cleveland…..we should have been expecting it," Ambassador Renate said. “Environmental Art is the indigenous art form of the Greater Cleveland, Ohio area, with the historic ARK in Berea now being the home to the global Environmental Art Movement.”

David Jakupca praised ICEA’s past 25 year collaboration between the United Nations and their various global multi-cultural partners in the role of "building bridges", both within the Cleveland community, as well as between America and the rest of the world. “ICEA has been the gateway for cultural dialogue and experimentation and we constantly try to introduce fresh ideas and new talents into the disciplines of art and design in terms of the creativity they demand relative to the meaning they have for people and their impact on society.

"Collaboration and teaming occurred in essentially all aspects of ICEA’s Projects," he said. "The Worlds Children PeaceMonument (WCPM) and the 'Great American Peace Trail' , in particular, has been very much a “cultural industry” enterprise about creating connections between people where the whole is greater than the sum of the separate parts.  This generation will play a critical role in addressing the ecological and humanitarian policy challenges for a sustainable global Culture of Peace.” Jakupca adds.

“It's hard to imagine a better Christmas gift than one that can give to the Worlds Children and their Families than peace of mind. I appreciate NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman willingness to help people that he will never meet. And on their behalf, thank you.” says Ambassador Renate.

Dracha Arendee
Ohio Syndicated News

Media Link:

http://www.americantowns.com/oh/cleveland/news/national-endowment-for-the-arts-announces-chairman-rocco-landesman-retirement-and-iceality-related-grants-11968950

Prospero
Books, arts and culture

http://www.economist.com/comment/1921002#comment-1921002

World Peacemakers Hall of Fame: The History of Peace Makers

World Peacemakers Hall of Fame:
The Worlds History of Peace Makers

By Eugene Schiopota

MAHATMA GANDHI

During years of leadership and resistance against the British colonization of the Indian subcontinent, Mahatma Gandhi's beliefs never wavered on nonviolence. Gandhi's philosophy on nonviolence was his trademark: "Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man." He stood firm in his beliefs on nonviolent protest (i.e., passive resistance including hunger strikes) and religious tolerance. When Hindus and Muslims committed acts of violence, whether against the ruling British (or against each other), he fasted until the fighting would cease. He was imprisoned many years for treason against the British Crown. Well-versed in yoga and meditation, he used his mind to not only endure, but conquer his imprisonment. Starved for extensive periods of food, drink and human companionship, he learned to stay alive and not give in. The British, in a struggle to hold on to a valuable colony, wanted him to publicly recant his beliefs in the cause of Indian freedom and cease his resistance efforts.

The British finally relented (in 1947), not to a military victory, but over-overwhelmingly to a triumph of the human will. Subsequently with independence, the countries of India and Pakistan were born--with Gandhi emerging as a hero and father of a new Indian Nation.


NELSON MANDELA

Nelson Mandela spent most of his life as a prisoner of the government of White-apartheid South Africa for acts of sabotage and treason (the usual reaction of an occupier to dissent). He often gazed at the ceiling of his cell and imagined tropical islands and women among the paint splotches and cracks. Such things occupied his mind and retained his sanity. Many hunger strikes and silent days blended into a 30-year ordeal of imprisonment. Times changed and the overriding bloodbath of whites vs. blacks never occurred as cooler heads on both sides prevailed. Mandela was released in 1990 and went on to assume the presidency of a new biracial republic. Mandela's accomplishment of reconciling whites and blacks in one of history's most cruelly divided nations is a phenomena of almost miraculous success.


MARTIN LUTHER KING

He was not a perfect man or a saint. But when he got behind the podium the World changed. Like Jesus, he brought the poor and disenfranchised the one thing they really needed--HOPE. We knew already that what he said was true--everyone knew deep inside that all races and ethnicity's were equal in front of man and G-d. He taught us that to sustain racism was to deny our own intelligence, to deny humanity itself. And yes, the government stalked him and called him a communist, but he was a man beyond political systems and the facades of society. The assassin's bullet could not quiet THE DREAM. But with freedom comes a responsibility to improve society and stamp out hatred. If King were alive today, he would be concerned about our world. How the minorities fight the wars that only the rich benefit from. How the last presidential election went down. The death of the middle class in America. I dreamed of Dr. King and saw tears in his eyes.....


MOHAMED ANWAR EL-SADAT

President of the Arab Republic of Egypt 1970-1981. Sadat was a man of great vision. He laid a foundation for peace in 1977 when he paid a historic visit to Jerusalem; paving the way for Egyptian-Israeli negotiations which culminated in the Camp David framework for peace in the Middle East in 1978. This framework led to the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty by the virtue of which Israel withdrew from Sinai to begin the establishment of peace in the region. The two countries then established diplomatic relations in 1982.

Killed by an assassin's bullet, all can agree that the Middle East and the world need more great leaders like President Mohamed Anwar El- Sadat.

JIMMY CARTER

Jimmy Carter  Thirty-ninth president of the United States, served as president from January 20, 1977 to January 20, 1981. He championed human rights throughout the world. Significant foreign policy accomplishments of his administration included the Panama Canal treaties, the Camp David Accords, the treaty of peace between Egypt and Israel, the SALT II treaty with the Soviet Union, and the establishment of U.S. diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.
In 1982 he founded The Carter Center. Actively a nonprofit Center that addresses national and international issues of public policy. Carter Center fellows, associates, and staff join with President Carter in efforts to resolve conflict, promote democracy, protect human rights, and prevent disease and other afflictions. President Carter and The Carter Center have engaged in conflict mediation in Ethiopia and Eritrea (1989), North Korea (1994), Liberia (1994), Haiti (1994), Bosnia (1994), Sudan (1995), the Great Lakes region of Africa (1995-96), Sudan and Uganda (1999), and Venezuela (2002-2003). Through the Global 2000 program, the Center advances health and agriculture in the developing world.


MIKHAIL GORBACHEV

In September 1978, Leonard Brezhnev, head of the Soviet Union, made a minor decision that would start a fundamental shift in the history of the world. Brezhnev's careful compromise in appointing Mikhail Gorbachev to the governing Central Committee would eventually lead to the peaceful break-up of the Soviet Union, ending the Cold War. Gorbachev, unknown at the time, was very different from his "old guard" peers on the Committee. Gorbachev was young, energetic, and an idealist.

The political structure of the Soviet Union was the result of the influence of Joseph Stalin. Stalin took the political system unleashed by the communist revolution of 1917 and turned it into a killing machine built on a political system of socialist conformity. Stalin's firm hand suppressing the people survived his death. The breakup of the Soviet Union and the release of the Eastern Bloc countries were inevitable--given the economic failure of the Soviet system in the 1970's and early 80's. The Soviets had fallen far behind the West in economic development.
Gorbachev had absolute power because he was the supreme leader of the Soviet Union and Communist Party. He had a great desire to reach the common people and have a dialogue with them. He realized that "Perestroika", the process of change, must be started from above--but the common people must be taught about democracy. Gorbachev went through towns and villages carrying his message of change. He promoted idealists like himself to the higher levels of government. One of these idealists was Boris Yelsin who went on to initiate Russia into democracy and lead the early Russian Republic.
Gorbachev guided the Soviet Union and the release of the Eastern Bloc countries through a bloodless transition from communism to democracy. This massive achievement qualifies Mikhail Gorbachev as one of the greatest peacemakers of the 20th Century.


LECH WALESA

The efforts of Lech Walesa, leader of Polish Solidarity (the early union movement in communist Poland), culminated in the achievement of the "Gdansk Agreement" (ratified October 9, 1980) which prepared the way for the Solidarity movement's legalization. Walesa accomplished this through leadership, organizational abilities and a series of "illegal" labor strikes. However, the following December, the Solidarity movement was crushed by the communist Polish militia and Walesa (and others from the movement) were imprisoned.

By the tenth anniversary of the "Gdansk Agreement", Walesa was out of prison and communism in Poland was faltering (as well as in all of Eastern Europe and Russia). Walesa's primary biographer tributes him as "an epochal figure, who shaped a country's struggle for sovereignty and freedom, played a central role in the collapse of communism and established the contours of his country's new vibrant democracy and free market economy."
Lech Walesa achieved great goals through peaceful ideas.


LEO TOLSTOY
Author of War and Peace, Tolstoy is considered one of histories greatest thinkers on the issue of World Peace. He wrote many articles on the subject of peace -- some involve actual letters from soldiers seeking advice. His message to soldiers still rings true: "You are a soldier...you have been brought to 'pacify'...it has been instilled in you that you are not responsible for the consequences of your shots. But you know that the man who falls bleeding from your shot is killed by you and by no one else..."
Tolstoy believed that "Armies will only be diminished and abolished when people cease to trust governments, and themselves seek salvation from the miseries that oppress them, and seek safety, not by the complicated and delicate [efforts] of diplomats, but in the simple fulfillment of that law binding upon every man, inscribed in all religious teachings, and present in every heart, not to do to others what you wish them not to do to you-above all not to slay your neighbors." (1896)

DAVID AND RENATE JAKUPCA
American Cultural Ambassadors
First Lady of Peace


Builders of the "Worlds Children Peace Monument"  (WCPM) and the "Great American Peace Trail".  The noted Cleveland  husband and wife team are recognized for their pioneering work in the Environmental Art Movement to help create a more sustainable, equitable and peaceful World in modern times. Through their international advocacy and educational activities promoting from a cultural perspective, the Jakupca’s have contributed to the revitalization of cultural and environmental diversity, and the strengthening of local communities and economies worldwide. In 1987, by founding the International Center for Environmental Arts (ICEA) at the historic ARK in Berea, they have combined their expertise in ecology, art and culture to really unravel the evolutionary dynamics of humanity. Their original 'Theory of Iceality on Environmenta Arts' , is the first fundamental change in developing a Culture of Peace in over 2000 years. The Theory underscores Nature's view about the integrative universal process of freedom and is the first to connect not only Man, but all Living Things (Human, Plant and Wildlife Kingdoms) to achieving a sustainable global Culture of Peace."

MOTHER TERESA 
In the early stages of her life, she was fascinated by the stories of missionaries. At the age of 18, she joined the Sisters of Loreto in Calcutta (Now, Kolkata) in order to start the charity works and spread the message of love in the world. Sister Teresa became Mother Teresa on 24th May 1937. She taught from 1931 to 1948.

The condition of the poor people outside the convent school where she was teaching were utterly bad. It, indeed, hurt her very deeply. She understood the need of the hour to help the destitute. With courage and divinity, she had started an open-air school for the slum dwellers of Calcutta. She did not stop with the service of teaching the poor children. She had also taught the adults and gave medical treatments to the ill patients by providing the basic amenities such as hospitals and clinics. She has been better known for starting off “Missionaries of Charity” with her pupils. Shishu Bhavan, establishment of center for AIDS patients and many Homes had also been started for the orphanages. Her service is still being followed in many parts of the world. She is an ideal person to be a good social worker and set as an example to the entire world as the icon of peace and love.

Mother Teresa is one of the greatest human beings of all time! A gift for the poor and destitute. She had received many high profiled awards. Some of them were:
* Padmashree award in 1962
* Nobel Peace Prize in 1979
* Bharat Ratna in 1980
* The Pope John XXIII Peace Prize
* Order of Merit from Queen Elizabeth
* Medal of Freedom


JOHN LENNON
He rests in Strawberry Fields,
A victim of a single madman,
Tied to a single bullet.
He said "give peace a chance,"
But they continued to fight,
And die.
He hated violence,
But in the end it consumed him,
Like the fire of lit match,
To the unwinds of a rope.
But he saw above the eyes of most men,
That war was a waste of time, lives,
And energy.
And an unsettling feeling,
That all war will end,
When the last human,
Takes his final breath...

  ~ Worlds Children Peace Monument  ~
Peace Carved in Stone is the Universal  Symbol of Living Peace

"Peace Hero's"Article By Christa Herbert 
Parma, Ohio
Written as part of the groundbreaking ceremony for the Parma Peace Stone on International Peace Day, Sept 21, 2012 at South Park, Parma Ohio.

Reference Links:
National Endowment of the Arts
http://www.arts.gov
Ohio Arts Council http://www.oac.state.oh.us
International Center for Environmental Arts
http://www.theicea.com 
City of Cleveland
http://www.cleveland-oh.gov

http://www.nobelprize.org
http://cultureofpeace.org/
http://www.internationalpeaceandconflict.org/
http://www.internationaldayofpeace.org/

City of Parma
http://www.cityofparma-oh.gov

American Cultural Ambassadors honored with "Freedom Award"

Several prominent citizens of the Cleveland's Ethnic   Community were honored with the “FREEDOM AWARD” July 18 by the American Nationalities Movement at the group’s annual Captive Nations Dinner, held at the Toscana Party Center in Cuyahoga Heights. About 160 People attended the event.

The American Nationalities Movement has chosen American Cultural Ambassadors and husband and wife team David and Renate Jakupca for the 2012 Freedom Award "in recognition of their pioneering work in the Environmental Art Movement to help create a more sustainable and equitable world. Through their international advocacy and educational activities promoting from a cultural perspective, the Jakupca’s have contributed to the revitalization of cultural and environmental diversity, and the strengthening of local communities and economies worldwide."

Also honored was Parma Municipal Court Judge Kenneth R. Spanagel for his active and life long role in local ethnic communities.

When future Cleveland Mayor Ralph Perk launched the American Nationalities Movement in 1959, dozens of nations lay trapped behind what was then called an Iron Curtain of communism.

For years, with leaders like Senator George V. Voinovich, the Cleveland-based group lobbied and petitioned on behalf of people unable to speak for themselves.

Most of the original “captive nations” — including Hungary, Poland and Lithuania — are now independent democracies. But the group’s president, Judge Ralph J. “Rocky” Perk Jr., insists its ideals and goals remain as timely as in his father’s day.
 
  “We are honored and deeply humbled to receive this award," the Jakupca’s e-mailed President Ralph Perk Jr. upon learning of their selection. "It is a special privilege to receive this honor from the American Nationalities Organization that has as its aim the fostering of both scientific and spiritual values on a worldwide level”.

"We are profoundly grateful to the American Nationalities for recognizing and celebrating the value of scholarship and the importance given to the interchange and balance between scientific advancements and spirituality, and for the opportunity the prize gives for intercultural and inter-generational exchange," they continued. "Conscious of the list of scholars who have previously received the Freedom Award, we thank you with great pleasure, gratitude and humility."

ABOUT: "David and Renate Jakupca have combined their expertise in ecology, art and culture to really unravel the evolutionary dynamics of humanity,” said Patrick Cahill, Board member of ICEA. "It is fitting that on the ICEALITY SILVER REVELATION, the 25th anniversary of ICEA, that they receive this award and underscore humankind's view about the integrative nature of the process of freedom and peace for all."

In a historic re-unification if the Greater Cleveland Community, as part of the Iceality Silver Revelation, North East Ohio Area has been 'branded' as the Home of the Environmental Art(s) Movement by the International Center for Environmental Arts (ICEA) as a 'Cultural Industry', to foster civic identity, cultivate tourism, and brand Ohio Environmental Arts and Culture District in the Bioregion.

Together, the Jakupca’s founded the International Center for Environmental Arts (ICEA) in 1987 to meet the compelling needs of ordinary citizens for access to current, balanced, understandable information about complex global issues. Today, the International Center for Environmental Arts (ICEA) is a force for socially responsible activity as stated clearly in its mission statement: “ICEALITY” or "Theory of Iceality on Environmental Arts" - to assist in the understanding of the relationship between Humans and their Environment through Arts and Culture while ultimately promoting a sustainable global culture of peace network.” Over the years, ICEA has gained a reputation for excellence based upon a unique library of specialized and current information on global importance and a wide range of imaginative programming and collaborations with other organizations to meet the needs of a broad constituency. With affiliates across the globe, the ICEA supports the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and Code of Ethics and a range of programs that strengthens them. It supports research, information sharing and effective action throughout the global environmental arts network.

The "Theory of Iceality on Environmental Arts" is practical study on the aesthetics of the relationship between Humans and their Environment through Arts and Culture, ultimately promoting an effective sustainable global Culture of Peace between all Living Things   (Human, Animal and Plant Kingdoms)

At the ARK in Berea, David Jakupca has for the past four decades, been a highly vocal scholarly leader that has used the Arts as a tool for social change. Major institutions have christened him as the "Spiritual Father of the Environmental Art Movement," for his pioneering work on the Theory of Iceality.

Renate was born in Austria , and as director of ICEA , she is committed to developing the potential of the arts to reach ordinary people, bringing them clear information about the complex challenges we all face. Her work has taken her to the past 9 U.N. Conferences in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa .. One successful approach Renate developed together with her partner was to re-cycle huge quantities of information generated by the United Nations’ conferences around the world, and to make it accessible in the form of presentations and exhibits.

David and Renate Jakupca have been married for 39 years and, in all that time, have excelled in their commitment to the Greater Cleveland Community and beyond. What they consider their most important contribution, is the Worlds Children Peace Monument (WCPM). The WCPM serves as a multicultural peace milestone and, in time, will become the largest monument dedicated to Global Peace for all Children. In America , it is the backbone of the coast-to-coast Great American Peace Trail.

Together, they have won many honors including from the United Nations, the Nelson Mandela Leadership Award, and TIME Magazine as one of their 2000 Millennium "Heroes of the Planet". David and Renate have been appointed American Cultural Ambassadors when they represented the United States at EXPO2000 - the World's Fair in Hanover, Germany. In 2010, they were recognized as American Red Cross Community Heroes.

Both are officers and members of many local ethnic clubs and organizations, including Clevelandpeople.com where David is the German Ambassador and Renate is the Austrian Ambassador to Cleveland .

Additional Quotes:

At the formation of ICEA, Canadian activist Rick Coronado from Great Lakes United forecasted, “The International Center for Environmental Arts (ICEA), founded by David and Renate Jakupca, will act as our benchmark by which we can measure change and continuity in everything from the environment to relations between people through the Arts. But more than that, it will remind us that we are not the first people, native and immigrants alike, to face difficult choices in troubled times".

“The International Center for Environmental Arts (ICEA) is the blueprint that all all arts organizations should aspire to worldwide. Inspirational, groundbreaking, innovative, encouraging and most important all inclusive. Creativity is strong in ICEA’s hands. Ben Chavis, UCC at the Earth Summit 1992

"We at the Interchurch Council of Greater Cleveland praise the work of God's Spirit on behalf of human rights through the United Nations.  We marvel at the results of the work of the Spirit; We applaud those inspired instruments of Peace who relentlessly and courageously promote and defend human rights;
And we reaffirm our commitment to do our part in bringing this sacred and colossal mission to fruition."  Letter of Support from the Interchurch Council of Cleveland,  Rev. Thomas Olcott., Ex. Dir., June 15th, 1993.

"The Jakupca's efforts prove that art can, perhaps even should, be political and progressive."
Cleveland Magazine, upon receiving the 1994 Reader's Choice Award for Best Artist. 

"David Jakupca and his International Center for Environmental Arts (ICEA) is a team of art experts who have successfully fused not-for-profit idealism with for-profit pragmatism. The result is the country's only comprehensive professional artist run cultural program exclusively devoted to environmental and humanitarian concerns facing mankind in the 21st century. Spending his time devising strategies that have allowed his art work to influence people worldwide in promoting a better way of living, the ‘better way’ is by successfully demonstrating that a socially aware artist with a vision can make a real difference at the global level. Ed Burns, President Cleveland Jaycees 1994

"I would like to congratulate you on the successful presentation of the Habitat II Conference Exhibit in Cleveland, Ohio during your city's Bicentennial celebration.  Activities and support of the objectives of the United Nations by non-governmental organizations such as yours are, indeed, one of the most important means for informing public opinion.  We greatly appreciate the contribution you have made."  Mian Qadrud-din, Director of Public Services, United Nations 1996.

 "Thank you for your recent letter and the accompanying materials about the impact of your exhibit, 'Endangered Spaces' for the AMERICAN CANVAS PROJECT .  Environmental Art is extremely worthwhile and I am glad to hear that it is reaching a global audience."  Jane Alexander, Chairman, National Endowment of the Arts, January 3, 1997.

"People doing extraordinary things to preserve the environment."

Time Magazine, Nominated as Millennium Heroes of the Planet, April 2000

 "In recognition of participation in the establishment of better ties amongst nations.  The holder of this memento is hereby honored for a positive contribution towards and participation in the establishment of a better future for South Africa and the World especially the upliftment of children  and those in need living in poverty without jobs and food."  Nelson Mandela, 2001 UN Conference Against Racism in Durban, SA

"David and Renate Jakupca have been the leaders in showing how the Theory of Iceality on Environmental Arts works -- how small changes can lead to big ones. It is particularly fitting that as they approach the zenith of their careers, it coincides with this year's award. They are universally recognized and have been the honored guests at an extraordinary number of lectures and symposia all over the globe celebrating the Iceality of Peace."  
India Keyes, Community Cultural Activist, Freedom Award 2012

"With the founding of the 'Great American Peace Trail', the Pathfinders [David and Renate Jakupca] have blazed a Trail in the History of Peace so that all others may follow,  this is a natural extension of Man's capabilities"  Christ Herbert, City of Parma Educator, at Parma Peace Stone Ceremony.
 

ABOUT: Parma Municipal Court Judge Kenneth R. Spanagel has served the Parma Municipal Court since 1988, having been elected and re-elected in 1987, 1993, 1999, 2005 and 2011. He succeeded his father, George Spanagel, and between them they have served as judges of that court since August 1969.

Kenneth Spanagel has served as Presiding and Administrate judge of the court.

He received his degree in communication studies from Northwestern University and his law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. While president of the Parma Bar Association, Spanagel received the Ohio State Bar Association’s “Award of Merit” for Parma Bar Association activities.

Spanagel is a past president of the Association of Municipal and County Judges of Ohio and received its “President’s Award” for distinguished service both to that association and the Judiciary of Ohio. He serves as one of three municipal court judges on the Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission, having been appointed by the late Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer.

He is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association; Parma Bar Association; Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association; Ohio Traffic Rules Review Commission sub-committee on the Multi-Count Uniform Traffic Ticket; and the Ohio State Bar Foundation. He is co-editor of the judicial publication The Chronicle.

Spanagel frequently teaches law to judges, lawyers, and citizens.

He is a long standing member of Divinity Lutheran Church, were he serves as a Sunday school teacher, singer during contemporary services, assisting minister, Communion assistant and children’s sermon presenter.

Spanagel is a member of Deutsche Centrale (German Central) in Parma and the Cleveland American Middle East Organization. For many years he was a frequent speaker on the Slovak Radio Hour, sharing news of the community and ANM activity for freedom behind the Iron Curtain.

Spanagel lives in North Royalton with his daughter, Lindsay, grandson Blaine, and dogs Roxie and Coco.

By Rick Haase, Sun News

http://www.cleveland.com/parma/index.ssf/2012/07/parma_judge_honored_for_his_su.html
http://www.americantowns.com/oh/cleveland/news/local-husband-and-wife-team-honored-for-global-community-service-10178871
http://youtu.be/16yb4jGOHyw
http://www.TheICEA.com
http://www.clevelandpeople.com/other/events/2012/anm-summer.htm


Video and Text of Ambassador Renate's Acceptance Speech;
 
youtube.com Video Link:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16yb4jGOHyw&feature=share

Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen!

We are so honored to be here this evening. It is always wonderful to get together with everyone at a time when support for one another is so appreciated. I want to thank all who worked with us to make this event happen. I clearly realize the scale of this project and this makes me even more proud of this achievement

We would like to give special thanks to the American Nationalities Movement, Judge Perk and Irene Morrow for recognizing our accomplishments and honoring us this evening

I would also like to welcome some first time visitors and long time supporters, Joannie Miller, Bob Cunningham, Dieter and Christa Herbert, and most of all, my parents John and Hella Gottschick and my sister, Ilse Mayer who always believed in us.

We are very proud as to where the International Center for Environmental Arts has brought us…..this year being our 25th Anniversary of our organization and the pronciples of the Theory of Iceality. The Arts are extremely crucial during adolescence as it is a time when kids are learning more about self awareness and their identity in the world. Our Peace Project with our Peace Stones can actually help children and teens express themselves, giving them a voice and making them feel more connected with other teens and children around the world. As we erect these Peace Stones throughout the world, together they will become the World’s largest Monument dedicated to Peace. Our children's COASTWEEKS project has been successful and ongoing for the past 17 years in Ohio. What we need to do now is to have the Coastweeks Project and the Great American Peace Trail be implemented in all 50 States.

The International Center for Environmental Arts is an understanding of the relationship between humans and their environment through the Arts while at the same time cultivating a sustainable Culture of Peace and Iceality. By bringing positive awareness, by communicating, by listening to people, ICEA will do everything possible to try and change people’s way of thinking for the betterment of society by bringing out the importance of sustainability in the future by means of alternative methods to survive for a much healthier environment. This world has so many cultures and all striving for the same goal and realizing we are ALL the same, reaching for what is really important in life and that is PEACE FRIENDS and harmony among us all.
Thank you and God Bless!

Controversial Painter Comments on Depicting Peace Carved in Stone...The Building of the "Great American Peace Trail"

• ARK in BEREA: Widely regarded as the Spiritual Father of the Environmental Art Movement, David Jakupca, a controversial artist who often mixes politics and social issues in his work, has released a new white paper on the "ICEALITY SILVER REVELATION"
  
  Jakupca, who was voted favorite local artist in the 1994 Cleveland Magazine's Best of Cleveland readers choice awards includes infamous social artworks like the 1993 Anti-Chief Wahoo Portrait and the 1992 "Peace and Prosperity" print of Whiskey Island. He admits that in Cleveland, he is most recognized for his role as a watchdog on county corruption, especially politicians of all parties, and for more key efforts such as his persistent unique actions aimed at openness and accountability in government.
  
  His current project is building the National coast-to-coast "Great American Peace Trail " in addition to the " Worlds Children Peace Monument" (WCPM).
  He admitted at first, he had no idea what kind of public reaction to expect. He was elated when he realized people embraced it, and recognized it as a commitment to America's future through our Children and as an expression of love for our country.
  All ready over 20 Cities have committed themselves to the peace cause
  
  Jakupca hopes that the 'ICEALITY SILVER REVELATION' will get the more of “public talking about what the art work represents. "Can the politicians we elected point us in the direction of a sustainable global culture of peace?"
  He hopes that the ISR will get people to answer such questions.
  “It is time for the People to start talking, and the dialog is about to get intense,” he said.
  
  Background Check:
  


• The Environmental Arts Movement started by the The International Center for Environmental Arts (ICEA) founded by David and Renate Jakupca in 1987.
  


• Environmental Art is the true indigenous art form of the Greater Cleveland, Ohio area. The ARK in Berea is the home to the global Environmental Art movement.
  


• David Jakupca is the recognized leader and the Spiritual Father of the Environmental Art movement.
  


• In 1993 in Vienna, Austria at the World Conference on Human Rights, ICEA, with the approval of U.S. Delegates, Jimmy Carter and Geraldine Ferraro, began recycling and promoting United Nations' World Conferences.
  


• Through this partnership with the United Nations, ICEA has influenced a global audience of literally billions of people.
  


• In 2000, David and Renate Jakupca were appointed American Cultural Ambassadors representing the US at EXPO2000, The Worlds Fair held in Hanover, Germany.
  


• Environmental Art is now the number one movement in Cleveland, Ohio
  


• Environmental Art is the number one movement in America.
  


• Environmental Art is the number one movement Worldwide.
  


• New Buzz Word in URBAN DICTIONARY:
  According to the Urban Dictionary the Good Word in 2008 is 'ICEAlity':
  http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ICEAlity
  
  
  http://www.theicea.com/page3
  
  
  About ICEA: The International Center for Environmental Arts (ICEA) was founded by David and Renate Jakupca in 1987 to meet the compelling needs of ordinary citizens for access to current, balanced, understandable information about complex global issues.
  ICEA is organized into three divisions: Cultural, Environmental and Humanities. This has lead for ICEA to be a leading force for socially responsible activity.
  ICEA's mission is ICEAlity, that is to "Assist in understanding of the relationship between Humans and their Environment through the Arts ultimately promoting a sustainable global Culture of Peace".
  David and Renate, through ICEA participated in the 1992 EARTH SUMMIT, and later were Official United Nations Observers to the 1993 UN Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, Austria. There, with the approval of US Delegation Leaders Geraldine Ferraro and President Jimmy Carter, ICEA has been recycling all major World Conferences ever since. Over the years, ICEA has gained a reputation for excellence based upon a unique library of specialized, current information on global importance and a wide range of imaginative programming and collaborations with other organizations to meet the needs of a broad constituency.
  With affiliates across the globe, the ICEA supports research, information sharing and effective action promoting the sustainable global culture of Peace.

The International Center for Environmental Arts (ICEA) Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary

On the occasion of its 25th Anniversary, the International Center for Environmental Arts (ICEA) is expanding its community connections and celebrating new creative partnerships through the 'ICEALITY SILVER REVELATION'.

"ICEALITY SILVER REVELATION"
"What would happen if we took all the love, anger, talent, experience, creativity, resources and energy we have in the Community and focus it into just One Positive Challenge that could benefit the ‘Real World’ as we know it?” asks Ambassador Renate.
“What kind of influential revelations would we come up that would lead to just one Positive Action being made locally towards a sustainable global Culture of Peace?”

ICEA has already achieved significant success towards Peace with its veteran programming for targeted Ohio communities through its “Great American Peace Trail” and COASTWEEKS Projects. The interesting blend of works displayed by the two projects illustrates walls and connecting bonds between people and the process of understanding the complexities of our socio-cultural identity. The creation of the award-winning Worlds Children Peace Monument (WCPM) Project exhibits creative power and aesthetic aura in a collective tranquil vibe of creativity that reflects the sojourn towards cultural diversity at local, national and international levels.

ICEA Founders and American Cultural Ambassadors David and Renate Jakupca said all three projects share a common goal to connect with all the communities. “As a veteran NGO, we regularly share our expertise and capability with other like-minded organizations,” Ambassador Renate said. “We look forward to forging new opportunities with the 2012 ICEALITY SILVER REVELATION partnership by opening new doors and strengthening existing connections so that everyone may benefit.”

In a historic re-unification if the Greater Cleveland Community, as part of the Iceality Silver Revelation, North East Ohio Area has been 'branded' as the Home of the Environmental Art(s) Movement by the International Center for Environmental Arts (ICEA) as a 'Cultural Industry', to foster civic identity, cultivate tourism, and brand Ohio Environmental Arts and Culture District in the Bioregion.

The formation of a coalition agreement between new partners will further broaden its reach into diverse business and political communities that provide a significant important proportion of the population:
Specifically, ICEA is seeking to petition the Federal Government to administer and help fund the building of the coast-to-coast GREAT AMERICAN PEACE TRAIL. This program would be very similar to the Great Depression Era New Deal Works Progress Administration (WPA) Program called the Federal Art Project (FAP). Almost every community in the United States has parks or green spaces which would benefit from this program, especially rural and inter-city areas that would provide positive local community guidance for the youth and jobs for the unemployed who are able to work.

"This would be a unique period in developing World history. The legacy left by building the "Great American Peace Trail" will live on through the social media of the youth of America and connect with all the Worlds Children," says Ambassador Renate. “The shared vision of the three projects will encourage the creation of a global agenda which includes people from the cultural, environmental and the humanities communities, foster the development of new work, and will commit to a social inclusion of a sustainable Culture of Peace through the 'ICEALITY SILVER REVELATION”.

Opportunities for new collaborations in between the three projects are already underway.

On the Web:
"Great American Peace Trail"; http://wcpm.multiply.com
"COASTWEEKS"; http://www.coastweeks.com
"Great American Peace Trail" ; http://wcpm.multiply.com

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About ICEA:
The International Center for Environmental Arts (ICEA) was founded by David and Renate Jakupca in 1987 to meet the compelling needs of ordinary citizens for access to current, balanced, understandable information about complex global issues.
ICEA is organized into three divisions: Cultural, Environmental and Humanities. This has lead for ICEA to be a leading force for socially responsible activity. ICEA's mission is ICEAlity, that is to "Assist in understanding of the relationship between Humans and their Environment through the Arts ultimately promoting a sustainable global Culture of Peace".
David and Renate, through ICEA participated in the 1992 EARTH SUMMIT, and later were Official United Nations Observers to the 1993 UN Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, Austria. There, with the approval of US Delegation Leaders Geraldine Ferraro and President Jimmy Carter, ICEA has been recycling all major World Conferences ever since. Over the years, ICEA has gained a reputation for excellence based upon a unique library of specialized, current information on global importance and a wide range of imaginative programming and collaborations with other organizations to meet the needs of a broad constituency.
With affiliates across the globe, the ICEA supports research, information sharing and effective action promoting the sustainable global culture of Peace.


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